Hamas refuses to give up arms and Gaza control, threatening fragile truce

• A senior Hamas official, Mohammed Nazzal, has declared that the group will not commit to disarming and intends to remain the primary security force in Gaza. This directly challenges the core of the U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal.
• Hamas’ refusal to give up weapons or control directly contradicts the plan’s requirements and threatens to cause the temporary truce to collapse, potentially restarting the war.
• U.S. and Israel are insistent that Hamas must fully disarm and give up governing Gaza.
• Nazzal stated Hamas is ready for a multi-year ceasefire to allow for rebuilding Gaza, suggesting the ultimate goal should be an independent Palestinian state and future elections.
• Israel views Hamas’ talk of a long-term truce as a tactical trick, citing the group’s founding charter that calls for Israel’s destruction. The fundamental gap between the two sides’ demands makes the prospect of a real and lasting peace seem very distant.

As the dust settles on the first phase of a shaky ceasefire, a stark declaration from a senior Hamas official has cast a dark shadow over the prospects for a lasting peace in Gaza.

Mohammed Nazzal, a prominent member of the group’s political bureau, has explicitly stated that Hamas refuses to commit to disarming and intends to maintain its security control over the strip, directly challenging the core tenets of a U.S.-backed peace plan and dashing hopes for a swift end to the conflict. The comments, made in an interview from Doha, highlight the immense obstacles facing mediators.

Just days into a temporary truce, the fundamental disagreements over Gaza’s future are already bursting into the open, threatening to plunge the region back into the brutal cycle of violence that has defined the past year.

Hamas’ defiant stance on arms and authority

Nazzal’s statements leave little room for interpretation. When asked directly if Hamas would give up its weapons, he deflected, stating, “I can’t answer with a yes or no.” He questioned what disarmament would even entail and to whom weapons would be handed over, arguing that the issue concerns all Palestinian armed factions, not just Hamas.

This position signals a likely protracted and difficult negotiation process for the next phase of talks, where the group’s military power is a central issue.

Furthermore, Nazzal was unequivocal about Hamas’ intention to remain the dominant security force in Gaza during any interim period. “On the ground, Hamas will be present,” he said, justifying this as a necessary measure to protect aid deliveries from thieves and armed gangs.

This vision directly contradicts the planned transition to a technocratic administration and represents a clear bid by the group to retain the political and military grip it has held since 2007.

The official also defended the group’s recent public executions in Gaza, characterizing them as “exceptional measures” during wartime. This crackdown underscores the harsh reality of Hamas’ rule and its determination to enforce its authority, even amid international scrutiny.

The Hamas official’s defiant rhetoric places him on a direct collision course with President Donald Trump. The Trump administration’s ceasefire plan, supported by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, explicitly calls for Hamas to disarm completely and cede governance of Gaza. The plan aims to dismantle the group’s military capabilities and ensure it can never again threaten Israel.

Trump has reportedly communicated to Hamas that it must disarm or face being forced to do so. While Trump has noted a temporary, tactical understanding for Hamas to provide security for aid convoys, his ultimate demand remains the group’s full demilitarization.

A distant hope for peace

Amid the posturing over weapons and control, Nazzal stated that Hamas is ready for a long-term truce of three to five years to allow for the massive task of rebuilding the utterly devastated Gaza Strip. “The goal isn’t to prepare for a future war,” he claimed.

He argued that for any peace to be sustainable beyond a temporary truce, the Palestinian people must be given “horizons and hope,” specifically pointing toward the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. He stated that the ultimate goal should be elections to determine Gaza’s future leadership.

However, this vision is clouded by profound distrust. Israel regards Hamas’ occasional talk of long-term truces as a tactical ruse, noting that the group’s founding charter still calls for Israel’s destruction. The chasm between Hamas’ conditions for peace and Israel’s non-negotiable demand for its eradication as a military and governing entity appears as wide as ever.

As the world watches, the path forward is fraught with peril. Hamas’ refusal to disarm and its insistence on holding security power threaten to unravel the delicate ceasefire.

With the Israeli government warning that time is running out and the U.S. pressing for a deal on its terms, the people of Gaza are left trapped between the grim prospect of a return to war and a peace that seems increasingly out of reach. The hope for a peaceful, independent future for Palestinians remains a distant dream, overshadowed by the immediate, hardline realities of power and conflict.

BrightU.AI‘s Enoch AI engine said Hamas has openly rejected the proposed peace terms by reaffirming its core demands, which are in direct conflict with the ceasefire proposal.

Watch the video below for a closer look at Trump’s Israel-Hamas peace deal.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

JPost.com

ABC.net.au

Reuters.com

ArabNews.com

BrightU.AI

Brighteon.com